


Breathless

by dnovegga



Category: Miles Morales - Fandom, Peter Parker and Miles Morales - Fandom, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), peter parker - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety, Helping calm down, Panic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22000078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dnovegga/pseuds/dnovegga
Summary: Miles has a near death experience when a villain figures out a way to defeat his invisibility powers. TW: anxiety/panic attack
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Breathless

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this when I was having a rough night and needed a way to vent so voilà

He tried to scream, to yell, to make any kind of noise that would let someone know he was about to die but the wind simply picked the sounds out of his throat before they could form. The air around him was smothering, moving too fast for him to breathe. Or maybe it was him, maybe the air was stationary and he was the one moving too fast. But it didn't matter now. In a matter of seconds he was going to be nothing more than a mark on the sidewalk below. He realized this as he passed the 17th story windows, and gave up trying to call for help. It was no use. No one would have been able to do anything, he was spider-man for god's sake, he was the one supposed to be doing the saving. His eyes were burning, a mix of the air and the tears trying to force themselves out into the world. As the first one was snatched away by the wind, so too was his first sob, followed soon by a second and a third. He stared at the sky, trying to drink in the stars and skyline for the last time. At least his last sight would be something he loved. Time had slowed for him, and yet seemed to speed up. He could feel the ground approaching. Whether that was due to his spidey-sense or just knowing the ground was getting closer, he didn't know. It didn't matter. Suddenly he was pulled to a stop. 

Is that was dying feels like? he thought to himself, not opening his eyes, scared of what he might see.

Silence. He didn't dare open his eyes yet. It felt like his body was hanging, like something was stuck to his chest, holding him above whatever ground might lie below. 

"Hey, kid. Miles. Look at me, are you ok? Move something, just let me know you're alive."

Who.. what? I'm not dead? Am I dead? Am I a ghost? Nnnggg everything hurts. Dad was on the sidewalk below. He saw me falling. Is dad talking to me?

"Dad?" he groaned, trying to open his eyes. But fear and adrenaline kept them shut. 

"Oh thank god, you're alive. No, it's not your dad. It's Peter. You'll be ok, just hang in there for me kid. I'll get you someplace safe," the voice, Peter, promised. 

He tried to move his head and say ok or something but he just went limp and blacked out. 

\-------

He felt his body slam into reality as he jolted awake. He was crying again, chest tight and rapidly filling his lungs as they tried to keep up with his heartbeat. His hand moved to cover his mouth and stop the sounds from escaping; no wind to carry them away this time. 

In the last rational part of his mind he took notice to his surroundings. There wasn't much to take in, it was dark with some light seeping in through the blinds over the windows. There was no immediate danger, but that didn't help to calm him down. 

The panic in his chest was building, he couldn't hold it in any longer. Holding it in was only making it worse, and making him cry harder. He couldn't do it any longer. He let go. 

Every inhale was a struggle, and every exhale was just a quiet yell, wishing for it to be over. All the light, as little as it was, had gone, along with any sounds outside of his breathing. It was just dark now. He couldn't stop his breathing, couldn't control it. He knew he was sweating and shaking but he couldn't feel anything past his chest that felt like it was on fire. 

There was something on his shoulders, he could feel the pressure. 

"....iles.... miles! ...... Miles! Hey! You're ok! Try to slow your breathing down for me bud, ok? Can you do that?"

He couldn't talk, could only cry out for something that he couldn't say or remember. Peter's arms were around him now, holding him together in some way. He grabbed for Peter's pyjamas and clenched them in his fists, trying desperately to center on something. 

"Take a deep breath. You can let it all out, but you gotta breathe for me ok?"

His face was hot and soaked in tears and sweat. The tears were so thick that he couldn't see. 

After what felt like ages it finally broke, something in him calmed. Whether it was because of Peter's nearly-crushing hug or because Miles had tired, he didn't know. All that mattered was that it was finally over. Mostly. Miles still couldn't stop crying, hard as he tried. 

"Miles, listen to my voice. Focus on me. You're ok. What happened today was terrifying, yes, but you survived. You did it. No one else was hurt. Your parents think you're staying the night with your roommate. We took care of everything, ok? You just gotta try to relax now."

Miles was curling up in Peter's embrace, warm and protected. The tears hadn't stopped yet but they were less fire and more water. Miles inhaled sharply, and then yawned. 

"Peter... I'm sorry Peter. I just.. I thought I could make it. Thought I could do it."

The tears quickened again, this time filled with disappointment. He had let Peter, he had let everyone down, hadn't he? He wasn't there to finish the fight. Instead he decided to pull a stupid stunt and almost got himself killed. 

"Miles, it's ok. You were doing what you thought was best. Everyone took care of it, Gwen just about killed the guy for cutting your web. It wasn't your fault."

"But..." Miles said in confusion, "I was alone, I didn't think anyone had seen me go. I was invisible.. or I thought I was."

Peter shifted his weight to sit back on the couch, but didn't let go of Miles. 

"Yah, you were invisible to us, but this guy had some kind of thermal goggles so when he saw you swing away he just had to follow the heat signature to know whatever it was you were planning on doing."

Miles' breath hitched in his throat and his eyes glazed over. That's all it took? Someone with a pair of goggles and he could end up dead?

Miles still wasn't really breathing as he looked at the shadow over Peter's face. 

"If he figured me out then other people probably have too, I'm gonna be useless, there's no way for me to fight like I do, I can't do this without going invisible, I can't... I can't.."

"Miles, Miles it's ok. Breathe... easy, you're ok. You're working yourself up again. At the moment, no one else knows how or why it happened. If something like this does happen again we'll be ready. Gwen and Noir are already figuring out ways to help prepare all of us just in case." 

Miles took a shaky breath, trying to ease his adrenaline again. His face was still running with tears, hot and terrified. 

"Miles, listen to my voice ok? You've just gotta let it out. You can't bottle this up inside. I know you didn't today, and I'm proud of you for letting it out. What we go through, what you went through, can be a lot to deal with. Sometimes it can get to be too much. But we make it through. You'll be ok, just keep breathing. We'll figure this out but right now we have to focus on calming you down." 

Breathing was coming easier now, smoother and less ragged. Miles' hands were beginning to loosen from Peter's pyjamas and his head was getting heavy and beginning to rest on Peter's chest as sleep weighted down his mind. Peter's hand found its way to the back of his head, lulling him even more. 

"Easy buddy. Go to sleep, we can talk more in the morning."

Peter's chest rumbled as he kept talking, giving Miles something to focus on. The tears finally ebbed, and his hands went limp, finally giving the pyjamas room to breathe. He would be ok. He wasn't alone. He was never alone.

**Author's Note:**

> The end is a little rushed because I didn't want to drag it out and it was beginning to run in circles so I ended it the best I could Plus I made this from personal experience with anxiety attacks and mine tend to finish pretty quick


End file.
